There's this word, "territorial," that nature takes pretty seriously. When it's applied to a two-ton animal with teeth the size of bowling pins, that is one hell of a word. The sort of word you either pay very close attention to, or ignore and end up with a complimentary "Killed to death by a fucking hippo" tombstone. That sort of thing is really embarrassing for the family, you know?

Hippos (or, by their full name, Hippopotamuses, which is Greek for horse of the river) are usually considered as heavy, lazy, dim-witted, yet charming creatures, while in Real Life, they are actually very dangerous. Many people think that when hippos open their mouths really wide, they're yawning, when they're actually showing off their fangs to warn off other animals. They kill more people in Africa than crocodiles or lions.

Examples:

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Anime & Manga

Played With in Gash Bell. When Kanchome asks Folgore what his favorite animal is, he says it's the hippo; Kanchome however thinks hippos are lame and that lions are way cooler. During a later fight, Kanchome goes Drunk with Power and terrorizes his enemies (who admittedly had it coming); however, he takes it to the point where even his own allies become afraid of him. Folgore then explains that he was once a "lion man" who would viciously attack wrongdoers but would also scare off his friends with his abrasiveness, to the point where even his own family disowned him. He then saw footage of a hippo with birds playing in its mouth, and decided that that was the kind of man he wanted to be, one who could be a clown that cynical people would laugh at but could still be loved. When Kanchome rejects this and tries to attack him, Folgore holds back his monstrous form with his bare hands, continuing that if they need to, a hippo can overpower even a lion, which serves as the complete analogy for Folgore's character: a man who would act like a fool, but be able to defend things that are important. He then asks Kanchome if he thinks he's lame because he's like a hippo, causing Kanchome to break down in tears and revert to his normal form.

Eastern Animation

In Nu, Pogodi!, the hippo is a Gentle Giant recurring extra. Though he often causes the wolf pain, it is usually through obliviousness (such as mistaking him for a member of his building crew and loading some bricks onto his back.)

The hippos in Disney's Tarzan only make brief appearances, but are depicted as gentle, slow and docile, quite different from their normal aggressive behavior. Hippos are depicted as more aggressive in The Legend of Tarzan, however.

Averted on The Prince of Egypt, which briefly shows two hippos fighting each other, nearly crushing baby Moses in his basket.

Film - Live-Action

Congo is one of the rare examples where hippos are portrayed as dangerous, attacking the protagonists on the river.

In the Discworld, hippos are the heraldic animal representing Ankh-Morpork. (Big, slow, ungainly, generate a lot of shit, and wallow in filthy water). The city keeps two elderly arthritic hippos, and mythology says disaster will befall if they die or leave. Roderick and Keith are said to have an amicable arrangement of their own. Hippos appear in heraldic art - the Brass Bridge is lined with carved wooden hippos - they appear on the city's coat of arms, and now feature on currency notes and stamps.

The title character of Hanna-Barbera's The Peter Potamus Show is a hippo who travels around the world in a hot air balloon with his monkey sidekick, So-So.

The Hip Hippos from Animaniacs are a hippo couple who like to enjoy the finer things in life.

When The Simpsons go to Africa they're attacked by a hippo. Homer says that hippos are afraid of water so they get into a convinent canoe. Lisa points out that hippos are actually very good with water (they're "river horses"); but then the hippo they're running from turns out to be afraid of water after all.

One episode of The Wild Thornberrys had Eliza trying to save a hippo from some Evil Poachers. A later episode realistically depicts hippos as extremely violent and aggressive.

Lampshaded in one episode of The Cleveland Show. While playing a game of "Hungry Hungry Hippos", Tim wonders why hippos are portrayed in a positive light when they are very dangerous in reality. He also mentions they get their appetites right.

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